Tending the Seed

A Sower Went Forth Sowing Good Seed - - but - -

Pastor Jerry was reading from two portions of scripture.  Matthew 13: 1-9, 18-23  was The Parable of the Sower and the types of ground that received the seed.

Isaiah 55:10-12 New King James Version (NKJV) God’s Word is the Seed.

¹⁰ “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower, And bread to the eater,  ¹¹ So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. ¹² “For you shall go out with joy,  And be led out with peace; The mountains and the hills, Shall break forth into singing before you, And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

Does the Word of God make a difference in your life? 

Let us consider a few definitions of the Word of God”

1 A decree from God – His breath or a whisper.
2. An address to humans, a voice from heaven
3. Jesus is the Word of God made flesh.
4.  The written word was first given to Moses written with the finger of God.  Then Holy men of God wrote as they were given the words to write.

Does reading or hearing God’s word stir your spirit?
Have you ever heard from God and doubted?  Were you receptive? 

When the Word of God does not inspire or stir you that is sad. 

Often the reason we are not stirred, is we have heard the word before and it is not new, so we are bored. 

Likely the speaker failed to deliver the word in an exciting way, or the listener was not paying attention.  Perhaps we failed to zero in and focus on the meat of the Word.

Are we the church on Fire, or simply simmering along.

Now about the seed.  Are you ready to hear or to rearrange your receiving?  The seed was good seed and was randomly scattered.  It is ready to grow.

The Parable Jesus told addressed different types of soil. 

 

The wayside with shallow ground so birds devoured the seed; the ground with stones and no root, and ground with weeds and thorns to choke, and the good ground where those who understand and received the word with gladness.

In Jesus day, many of the hearers were farmers and they understood sowing and reaping.  The stories Jesus told were tools to reveal truth.

Human hearts are unpredictable, and we are the soil.  Often a bit of each type of soil is found in us.  We must arrange our thinking and be receptive.

Then at times we are the sower, and we cast forth the seed.  We can’t predict the soil will produce and there are many reasons.  The season must be right, and the seed must be watered, weeded and cared for.  The final results are left up to God.

To some people the message is offensive, others find it liberating, and encouraging.

The seed is precious and valuable, and as we sow, may we sow deliberately and extravagantly scattering widely and hoping for a result.

God has a different way of sowing.  He sowed to us Jesus so that we might enjoy newness of life and eternal life.

The message may at times be inconvenient when we are told to love our enemies, our neighbors and our families.

Are we really listeners and are we stimulated allowing our hearts to be stirred?

There are limits to sowing.  At times we tire and have no energy.  We select an easier place to sow where it is more comfortable.

The disciples of Jesus argued, and were not too happy when Jesus ministered to outsiders.

How about you?  Let those who have ears to hear receive what the Spirit is saying.  God has a purpose and His plans are accomplished by His Word.

Scatter the seed whether it is convenient or not. 

 

The word must be planted and then God brings the harvest.